By Your Side
by Ayiana89
Summary: The Doctor and Martha are travelling together again and their relationship is developing into something more. Ten/Martha
1. Chapter 1

**AN: **This story is a continuation of my first Doctor Who story_ "Attack of the Ladurians" _but you don't need to have read it to understand this story.

It takes place between _"Attack of the Ladurians" _and the sequel and will show how the Doctor and Martha's relationship is going to develop. There won't be much action in this but a lot of Ten/Martha moments. I hope you enjoy. _  
><em>

A big thank you to Persiflage for beta reading.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Doctor Who

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

Martha put her two suitcases down on the floor of her room in the TARDIS. Just an hour ago she had been in here to pack the few things she had taken with her when she'd come back for a few trips with the Doctor only a week before. Back then she'd only wanted to stay for a few days and now she was going to stay. So much had changed in the last hour.

She bent down to open her suitcases and started to unpack her belongings. Her mind drifted back to that moment in front of her house an hour ago when everything had changed. She still wasn't sure if she'd made the right decision by travelling with the Doctor again. He had kissed her and told her that he loved her, but what if he'd just wanted her to come with him again because he was lonely? If he really returned her feelings why hadn't he told her before? Why hadn't he told her after the Year That Never Was when she had told him why she was going to leave him? Why had he treated her like he did back when they'd first travelled together?

But she knew that he could find someone else to come with him if he was just lonely. He wanted her specifically. And as long as there was a chance that he did return her feelings she couldn't go home. It would be hard enough to try to get over him when she was sure that he didn't return her feelings. But as long as she wasn't certain it would be almost impossible. She would always wonder. She had to know the truth.

She was just putting a few of her books on the shelves when she heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," she called out and turned around towards the door.

The door opened and the Doctor walked into the room. "Hi," he said, smiling at her. "Do you need help with unpacking your things?" he asked, indicating towards the open suitcases on the floor.

"No, I'm almost finished," Martha said. She watched him as he walked around the suitcases and stopped in front of her. He was rubbing the back of his neck with his hand like he often did when he wasn't sure what to say.

Martha smiled at that gesture. "Is there something you want to ask me?" she said.

"I was wondering if you're hungry. I know this restaurant, it's on a planet called Durelia. They make the best food I've ever tasted there."

"Are you asking me out on a date?" Martha asked, smiling at him in a flirty manner.

"Yes," he said, leaning closer towards her. "What's your answer?"

His face was now so close to hers, she could feel his breath on her skin. Her heart was pounding inside her chest and the butterflies inside her stomach were fluttering wildly around.

"I could eat," she whispered.

"Good," he said. He turned around and walked back towards the door. Just in front of the door he stopped and turned around again to look at her. "Oh, I almost forgot: It's usually very warm on the planet. It has three suns. So you'd better dress lightly." With that he turned around and left the room.

Martha shot an angry look at the closed door. It was so typical of him to make her feel like that and then just walk away.

...

Martha walked into the console room dressed in a purple sundress that hugged her body in all the right places. Her hair was pulled back from her face with a purple headband.

The Doctor looked up when she walked into the room. Martha smiled when she saw that his mouth was hanging open slightly. "You look stunning," he complimented her after a few seconds of silence.

Her smile broadened. "Thank you," she said. He walked towards her and put his arms around her waist and kissed her.

Martha let herself relax into his embrace. In moments like this it was so easy to believe that he really returned her feelings for him. They still had a lot to talk about if they wanted their relationship to work, but that could wait.

Martha moved her hands up his back to his neck to pull his head closer and deepened the kiss. They stayed like this for a long while until they both had to come up for air. But instead of moving away from her the Doctor leaned his forehead against hers. They stayed in each other's embrace till they'd caught their breaths.

"Let's go and have dinner," the Doctor said a few minutes later.

...

The restaurant was built on top of a cliff. The waiter brought them to a table on a terrace close to the edge of the cliff. They could watch the first sun setting during dinner.

Martha had to admit that the food on the planet was some of the best she had ever tasted. They didn't talk about anything important during dinner; they just enjoyed being together and eating the food.

When they finished dinner the second sun was already setting over the ocean, bathing the water in a golden light. The Doctor took her hand and led her down a set of stairs to the beach. The stairs were carved into the rock. They took off their shoes and walked over the soft sand. After a while they reached a few flat rocks near the water and sat down.

They sat there for a couple of minutes in companionable silence and watched the planet's third sun descending over the ocean.

"We still have a lot to talk about," Martha broke the silence. She needed some clarity if she wanted to have this new sort of relationship with the Doctor, and she figured that now was a good moment for the talk.

"I know," the Doctor answered. He fell silent again. Just as Martha was starting to believe that he wasn't going to say more he began talking again.

"When I first met you I had just lost Rose. She had helped me through a really rough time after the Time War. She made me forget my pain over losing my homeworld. And I thought I loved her. By now I think I was just loving the way I could forget my pain when she was there. She never worried about anything. She just lived her life like she wanted to and enjoyed it, and after some time with her I did the same. And when she was gone the reality kind of came back. There was pain again and I thought it was because I loved her. When I met you I was afraid of getting to close to you. And I felt guilty because I was feeling attracted to you so soon after losing Rose."

"You were feeling attracted to me when we first met in the hospital?" Martha asked sceptically.

"There were at least a dozen other ways to stop the Judoon that wouldn't include a 'genetic transfer'. I didn't even admit it to myself at the time but the truth is I just wanted to kiss you and it was a good excuse." The Doctor smiled sheepishly at her.

"And I thought you didn't see me back then," Martha said.

"Oh, I did. How couldn't I? Like I said, you are brilliant. You saved my life so many times, you saved the Earth almost on your own, defeated the Master. You are one of the strongest and most intelligent persons I know. You are selfless, compassionate and so beautiful. And I was afraid I would fall in love with you. I have lost everyone who was ever close to me. I was afraid I couldn't stand loving and losing someone else. So I tried to keep you at arm's length. I tried to cling to the memory of Rose to keep myself from thinking about you."

"So what is different now?"

"After you walked away from me after the Year That Never Was I started to realise that beside all my efforts not to see you I had fallen in love with you. And it was a much stronger feeling than I had felt when I lost Rose. At first I felt guilty as if I would dishonour the memory of Rose. Like I somehow owed it to her to cling to my feelings for her and not to fall in love again. But then I realised that you'd done so much more for me and all I did was to treat you badly and make you feel second best." He smiled sadly at her. "You never were second best. Never."

Martha smiled at him. "I know," she said.

He smiled back at her. "I'm so sorry," he said.

"It's okay. It's in the past. All that matters is the here and now."

He reached out and wiped a single tear from her cheek. "Martha Jones, I don't deserve you."

"I think you're probably right," she said, grinning at him, more tears forming in her eyes.

"I promise you I will never again take you for granted. I'll never again let you doubt how I feel about you. I know we can't be together forever. Someday I'm going to lose you but I want to make the best of the time we have." He took her face in his hands and kissed her long and softly.

"I love you, Martha Jones," he whispered.

"I love you too, Doctor," Martha said. She leaned against him and laid her head against his shoulder. They stayed that way for a long while. The third sun had set and it was getting dark. Now that the suns weren't heating everything up it was getting rapidly colder. Martha shivered a little. The Doctor put his arms around her to keep her warm. "Let's go back to the TARDIS," he whispered into her hair.

"Good idea," Martha responded. They got up and walked back along the beach toward where the TARDIS was parked on top of the cliff.

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><p><strong>AN: <strong>Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. The next chapter will hopefully be up in a couple of days.

Please leave a little review to let me know how you liked it.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:** Thank you to everyone who reviewed the first chapter or added it to his/her favourite stories list. I hope you will continue to enjoy this fic.

And a big thank you to Persiflage.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Doctor Who

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

Martha pushed the door to the infirmary open and half carried the Doctor into the room.

Only a few weeks had passed since the Doctor had taken her to Durelia for their first date.

Since then, they had travelled the universe like they'd always done. They had saved a few planets and civilisations, stopped an alien race from invading Earth in the 17th century and done a lot of running. And they had also been on a few dates or spent the evening in the TARDIS cuddling on the couch and watching movies. Martha had found out that the Doctor could be quite romantic if he wanted to be. They were getting closer with every passing day and she loved every minute they spent together.

In the morning of that day they had landed in a small human colony in the 28th century. The planet was ruled by alien creatures which had arrived on the planet a few years ago. The colony was far away from Earth so they couldn't count on any help from there. The Doctor and Martha had decided to help the colonists to get their freedom back. They had managed to force the aliens to leave the planet but before all of them had left, one of the creatures had attacked the Doctor. The colonists had shot the creature but that was after the Doctor had been injured. The colonists had helped Martha to get the injured Time Lord back to the TARDIS, and Martha helped the Doctor to lie down on one of the beds in the infirmary. He was panting heavily because of the pain. One of the 7 inch long claws of the creature was still stuck in his chest; the colonists had cut it off after they had shot the creature because they didn't want to injure him any further by pulling it out.

Martha grabbed a pair of scissors to cut his shirt open. "Let's get you out of your clothes," she said.

"I was really looking forward to hearing these words from you, but this is not how I imagined it would happen," the Doctor replied. Martha couldn't suppress a grin.

"I need to get the claw out. Are there any painkillers or an anaesthetic you could take?" she asked him while she was cutting his shirt open. He had once told her that he was allergic to painkillers and most anaesthetics wouldn't work on a Time Lord, but she hoped that he had some alien painkillers in the TARDIS that would work. She didn't even want to think about extracting the claw while he was awake and feeling the pain she was putting him through.

"No," he said. "I could put myself into a coma but I don't think that will be necessary. I'd rather stay awake."

"It's going to hurt very much," Martha told him.

"Oh, I think I can take it," he replied.

"Doctor, I can't extract the claw while I know that I'm causing you pain." Martha told him.

He pushed himself up on his elbows so he could see her face better. "Sorry, I didn't think of that."

Martha pushed him back down gently. "So you'll put yourself into a coma?" she asked. He nodded.

...

It took Martha nearly an hour to get the claw out of his chest and treat the injury properly. When he woke up a few hours later Martha was sitting next to his bed holding his hand.

"Hi," she said when he opened his eyes. He smiled at her. "How do you feel?"

"I've been worse," he answered. Martha reached out and wiped a few strands of damp hair from his forehead.

"You'll have to take it easy for a while. No running or saving planets in the next few weeks."

"Doctor's orders?" he asked her.

"Yes," she said, trying to look stern. "And you'd better follow them, understood?"

"I'm probably going die of boredom," he said, whining.

"Well, at least you'll have really nice company," she said.

"That's true," he grinned. After a few seconds of silence he whispered: "Kiss me, please."

"Gladly," she replied. She leaned down to him to press her lips against his.

...

The next morning Martha helped the Doctor back to his room. He still couldn't get up for longer than a few minutes, but he was stable enough so he didn't need to stay in the infirmary all the time and Martha figured that he would be more comfortable in his own bed. Fortunately the claw hadn't injured any internal organs and Time Lords healed a lot faster than humans, so Martha expected him to be fully fit again in less than two weeks.

Martha spent most of her time sitting at his bedside but he was developing a bad mood during the day so after a very quiet lunch she decided to leave him alone for the rest of the day. The last time she had seen him like this had been back when they'd been stuck in 1969 without the TARDIS. He had spent most of his time working on his timey-wimey detector and hadn't talked much. He just couldn't stand having nothing to do and now that he was stuck in bed it was even worse. In 1969 he could at least walk around outside but now there was nothing else to do than read books or talk to her. Martha had to admit that she'd hoped he would now appreciate her company more than he'd done in 1969.

In the evening Martha made some dinner for herself and the Doctor, and decided to take it to his room so they could eat together.

When she walked into his room she found the Time Lord lying in bed and staring at the ceiling with an open book next to him.

"How do you feel?" she asked, closing the door behind her.

"I'm fine," he said, pushing himself up on his elbows and giving a groan of pain in the process. Martha put the tray down and rushed to his side to help him sit up in bed. She rearranged his pillows to support his back and than walked back to get the tray.

"Do you feel like talking to me now?" she asked him calmly but she couldn't quite keep the edge of anger out of her voice.

"Yeah," he said. "I'm sorry about earlier. I know you just want to make things easier for me but instead of making the best of the situation and enjoying your company I just wallowed in self-pity."

Martha looked at him in surprise. She wasn't used to him apologizing for anything he did. The only other time he'd ever apologized to her for anything had been on their first date a few weeks ago.

She smiled and leaned down to kiss him on the lips. "It's okay," she said. "I know how much you hate being stuck." She sat down on the edge of the bed with her own tray on her lap.

"So, what have you been up to the last few hours?" he asked her.

"I've been in the library," she said. "And my sister called. She told me about some bloke she'd met…"

They spent the rest of the evening talking. Martha lay on the bed next to him and told him about her childhood and everything that had happened in her life before she had met him.

Before they both went to sleep, Martha in bed next to him, she realised that he now knew almost everything about her but she didn't knew much about him. He never talked about his past or his homeworld. It was kind of impressive how much he could talk without actually saying anything.

But she didn't worry much about it. She was sure that he would tell her about his past when he was ready to talk about it.

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> I hope you liked the chapter. Please let me know what you think and review.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:** I'm sorry for the delay. I had a bit of a writers block. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter.

Thanks for all the reviews for the last chapter. They made my day! And of course thank you to Persiflage.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Doctor Who

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><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

The Doctor walked around the console of the TARDIS, hoping to see something that he could repair. He'd spent the last few hours lying on the floor under the console repairing some of the TARDIS systems or just checking that everything was working correctly. He hadn't had time for anything like this since Martha had come back into his life a few months ago. He had spent most of his evenings with her rather than working on the TARDIS like he would have done before. However, Martha had gone to visit her family that afternoon so he had taken the opportunity to do some long overdue repairs. He'd parked the TARDIS in a side road near her mother's house because Martha hadn't told her parents yet that she was travelling with him again. Only her sister Tish knew and even she didn't know about the new nature of the Doctor and Martha's relationship. Martha had told him one evening that she was a bit worried about how her family would react to the news. Her mother had warmed up to the Time Lord after they had spent a year on the Valiant together but she definitely wouldn't be happy to hear that her youngest daughter was travelling with him again. And after all that had happened the last time he couldn't say that he blamed her. It was a complete mystery to him why Martha had decided to give him another chance after everything he'd put her through. He knew he didn't deserve this chance but he would do anything he could to make up for his past mistakes.

When Martha came back to the TARDIS one hour later the Doctor was sitting on the jump seat with his feet up on the edge of the console and a book in his hands. He looked up when he heard her coming in and immediately jumped up, throwing the book down on the seat next to him in the process.

"Martha," he exclaimed happily as he walked towards her to take her into his arms. "I'm glad you're back."

"You were bored, weren't you?" Martha asked him as she laid her head against his chest and listened to his hearts beating.

"Maybe a bit," he admitted. "How was your day?"

Martha moved out of his embrace to look at him properly, and sighed.

"Like days with my family always are. My mum had a fight with dad's girlfriend during dinner. And afterwards she told me that she went by my flat a few times over the last few weeks and wanted to know why I wasn't there. So I told her that I'm travelling with you again."

"How did she react?"

"She wasn't exactly happy about it" The Doctor got the feeling that there was something else she wanted to tell him but decided against it. Instead she just gave him a smile. "I'll go and take a shower," she said and walked out of the console room.

The Doctor looked after her as she left the room. Something was bothering her and he wanted to help her.

Usually when he noticed that a companion was bothered about something he left them alone and just assumed that they would come and talk to him if he could help somehow. It was rare that he even noticed it in the first place. But Martha Jones was far more than a companion now. She was his lover and she was always there for him when he needed her. He had noticed before that he'd got remarkably better in reading her moods. And for the first time in a very long time he felt the urge to talk with someone about their domestic problems.

...

He reached Martha's door and went inside after briefly knocking on it. Martha was sitting on her bed and looked up when he walked in. He sat down next to her on the bed, not sure what to say now that he was here.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said, a bit surprised by his question. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Did your mother say something that's bothering you?"

"Okay, what is this about?" she asked him.

"Something is bothering you," She didn't say anything but he could see in her eyes that he was right. He reached out and took her hand into his.

"Martha, you're always there for me when I need you and I want to be there for you too. I want you to know that you can talk to me about anything."

Martha smiled at him. She leaned forward to brush her lips softly against his.

"Thank you." She leaned back on her hands and looked at him. "I think I still need to get completely used to our new relationship."

"Me too," he replied.

Martha let out a small sigh. "It was just about what my mother said after I told her that I'm travelling with you again."

"What did she say?" the Doctor asked.

"She got angry and accused me of not thinking about my family. She said that I would put myself and them into danger because I do what I want without thinking about the consequences. She even went so far as to imply that what happened to them during the Year was my fault." she said, pushing down the anger and the feeling of hurt that was welling up inside her.

"Martha, she didn't mean what she said. She probably just wanted you to feel guilty so you would stay on Earth because she was afraid that something would happen to you while you're with me."

"But what if she really thinks it was my fault?"

"You saved them. You saved the world almost on your own and your mother knows that."

"You can't know that for sure," Martha said. A single tear was running down her face. The Doctor reached out to wipe it away.

"I was on the Valiant with her and the few times we were able to talk she told me how proud she was of you. She said if anyone was capable of saving us it was you and she was right. I seriously doubt that any of my other companions would have been able to do what you did."

A smile crept across her face that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"What if something else happens to them because I'm with you?" she asked him.

"You can never be sure that nothing bad will happen to them even if you stay on Earth. You always put everyone else first. That's one of the things I love about you. But sometimes you have to think about what you want as well. And travelling with me is what you want, right?"

Martha had to chuckle a bit when she heard the uncertainty in his voice. "Of course it is," she told him. This time her smile did reach her eyes. He reached out with both his arms and Martha crawled into his lap. He put his arms around her and held her close.

"I love you," he whispered into her hair.

"I love you too," Martha whispered back. They sat like this for a long while till Martha broke the silence. "Will you come with me to visit my family next time? I want to tell them about the true nature of our relationship."

"Oh, I hate family meetings," he answered with a whining voice.

Martha looked up at him with her big brown eyes. "Please?" she asked.

"All right. But only if you promise to protect me from your mother." Martha burst out laughing.

"She is going to slap me again!" he exclaimed.

"You're such a baby," Martha said, still laughing.

"It really hurt last time!" Martha leaned forward and silenced him with a long, passionate kiss. They only broke the kiss because they had to come up for air a few minutes later.

"Any plans for the evening?" the Doctor asked her, leaning down to kiss the side of her neck.

"I think first of all I'm going to take that shower," Martha answered. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of his lips on her skin.

"May I join you?" the Doctor asked between kisses. He trailed his kisses up her neck and started nibbling on her earlobe.

Martha reached up and started loosening his tie. "I think that's an excellent idea," she replied.

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> I hope you liked the chapter. Please let me know what you think and review.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN:** Thanks to everyone who reviewed or added this to his/her favourite stories list. And of course thank you to Persiflage for beta reading.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Doctor Who

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><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

The Doctor sat on the bed in Martha's room, watching her while she stood in front of her mirror, brushing her long, black hair.

"I don't understand why it is so important that we visit your family today," he said.

"It's Saturday. My family always spends Saturday afternoons together ever since the Year. I guess that's one good thing that came out of the Year. We really got a lot closer."

"But we have a time machine. We can go there when ever we want."

She turned around to look at him. "I want our time on the TARDIS to be in sync with the time that passes for my family. It's not like the first time we travelled together. I always planned on going back home after some time and resuming my life, but this time I'm here because I decided that I want to stay with you, maybe even for the rest of my life. And my family is part of my life. It's been seven days since I've last seen them so that means today is Saturday and we are going to meet my family."

"Okay," the Doctor said. He was happy to hear her saying that she wanted to stay with him permanently. He was still a bit worried that Martha would someday realise that she could do better than him. Or that she would leave because she wanted to have a normal life and was tired of travelling around the universe and having to run for her life every other day.

But he pushed that thought out of his mind. Even he didn't know what their future would hold for the two of them. All he could do was make the best of the time they had together and do everything he could to make her want to stay.

"It's just that I really don't like family meetings," he continued. "Especially when we are going to tell your mother about what kind of relationship we're really in."

Martha put down her brush and sat down on the bed beside him. "I know how much you hate doing domestic. And I really appreciate that you agreed to come with me today."

"It's important for you. Of course I'm coming with you."

Martha smiled and leaned forward to kiss him lightly on the lips. Then she got up again.

"My mum knows that you'll come with me. I asked her to be nice to you. And the rest of my family will be happy for us. I'm just worried about mum's reaction. I think she isn't quite over the shock of last week when I told her we were travelling together again. Have you seen my purple hair band?" she asked looking through her small collection.

"I think you left it in my room this morning," he replied. They had started to sleep together alternately in his bedroom then hers since their relationship had tuned to a more physical one a few weeks after the Doctor had been injured on the colony planet.

Martha gripped her blue hair band instead. "Are you ready to go?" she asked.

The Doctor let out a sigh. "All right then."

...

A few hours later the Doctor sat next to Martha on the couch in Francine's living room. Leo and his girlfriend Shonara were sitting next to them with their two year old daughter Keisha, who had fallen asleep a while ago. Tish, Francine and Clive sat on chairs opposite them. Clive's girlfriend, Annalise, hadn't wanted to come after her fight with Francine the week before.

Francine had been polite so far, even if it was more than obvious that she wasn't happy about the Doctor being there. She had asked Martha and him about their travels, and how long Martha had been back with him. Martha had warned the Doctor not to tell her mother about the more dangerous situations they had been in and he had to agree with her. Francine was already angry enough with him because he was putting her daughter in danger. He didn't want to give her more reasons to make her think he was a danger to her daughter.

He could understand why Francine was worried but he knew that Martha was more than capable of looking after herself. She had been in a lot of dangerous situations so far and had always found a way to get out of them herself, instead of waiting for him to help her like some of his other companions would have done.

He stroked the back of Martha's hand with his fingers, careful not to let Francine see it. They hadn't found the right moment yet to announce that they were together.

"I'll go and get a few more drinks," Martha whispered in his ear. "Don't worry: I won't leave you alone with my mum for long." She got up and left the room. Just as she was out of sight Tish got up and followed her sister outside.

...

Martha heard someone walk into the kitchen and turned around to see Tish standing in the doorway looking at her.

"Hey Tish," she said. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk to you alone," Tish said as she walked into the kitchen and leaned against the counter next to where Martha stood.

"What about?" Martha asked although she already had the feeling she knew where this conversation was going.

"It's about you and your Doctor," Tish began. "You're a bit more than friends, aren't you?"

A smile crept onto Martha's face as she nodded. She wasn't surprised that her older sister had worked it out as soon as she saw the two of them together, even if the Doctor and Martha had been careful not to show any signs of how close they really had got in the last few months.

"I knew it," Tish exclaimed, grinning at her sister. "But you told me that he wasn't interested in you in that way," Tish said. Martha thought back to the one time she had talked to Tish about her feelings for the Time Lord just a few days after the Year That Never Was.

"Seems like I was wrong," she said, still smiling.

"How long has this been going on?" Tish asked.

"Almost six months," Martha said. "I started travelling with him again after my exams, just for a few trips, but then he told me how he was feeling about me, and asked me to stay with him."

"But that was only two months ago," Tish said confused.

"I know. It's a bit hard to keep track of time when you're on the TARDIS but it's been six months for me. I decided to keep your timelines and mine in sync from now on though, because I decided to stay with the Doctor."

"You know that this will drive mum barmy when she hears about it."

"I know. I haven't decided how I'm going to tell her yet."

Tish opened her mouth to ask another question, Martha knew that there was still a lot that her sister wanted to know, when they heard footsteps and the Doctor walked into the kitchen.

"Everything alright?" Martha asked, feeling a bit guilty for having him left alone with her mother for longer than she had planned because of her conversation with Tish.

"Fine. I just wanted to get out of the living room for a minute. I just don't like family meetings," he answered, shrugging as he moved to stand next to Martha.

"I'll leave you two alone then," Tish said, winking at Martha before she left the room to join the rest of her family in the living room again.

"Did my mum say anything about us travelling together after I left the room?" Martha asked.

"No, I think she understands that it's your decision and she can't change it. She's just worried."

"I just hope she will still be so calm after we told her about us."

The Doctor pulled Martha into a hug. "Have you decided when we could tell her best?" the Doctor asked.

"After dinner? Than we can leave soon afterwards and maybe she will have calmed down by next week and we can talk to her properly," Martha said.

"You want me to come with you again next week?" the Doctor asked. Martha found that he sounded a bit horrified.

"Maybe just for a short visit," she said. She reached up and stroked his cheek with the back of her hand. "It really means a lot for me that you're here with me today," she said.

He smiled at her and leaned down to press his lips against hers. Martha closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of his lips against hers. She buried her hands into his hair and deepened the kiss, letting her tongue explore every corner of his mouth.

After a few minutes they parted and Martha opened her eyes to look at him. At that moment, she noticed a figure from the corner of her eye. She turned her head to see her mother looking at them with an incredible look on her face.

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> I hope you liked it. Please let me know what you think and review.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN:** This is already the last chapter of this story but the sequel will be up very soon.

Thank you for all your support and love. I'm in awe of how many reviews I've gotten for this fanfiction. I'm so happy you liked this story so much and I hope you'll enjoy the sequel just as much.

A big thank you to Persiflage for beta reading.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Doctor Who

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><p><strong>Chapter 5<strong>

"Mum," Martha said surprised. The Doctor turned around to follow her glance and saw Francine standing in the doorway. The incredulous look on her face was now gone, replaced by the stony expression Martha had seen a lot of times on her mother's face.

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" she said, looking directly at her daughter. "Alone," she added.

Martha glanced up at the Doctor. "I'll be back soon. Wait here," she said. Then she followed her mother out of the room.

Francine led her through the back door into the garden for privacy. Martha had just shut the door behind her when her mother started.

"So is that why you're back with him?" she said, her arms folded over her chest.

Martha folded her arms as well and looked straight in her mother eyes. "Yes," she said. Her mother exhaled sharply but before she could say anything Martha continued. "I love him, mum. And I know that he loves me too. I'm going to stay with him."

"But all this time you were studying to be a doctor and now that you are one, you want to throw all that away to travel with an alien?"

"I'm not throwing anything away mum. I wanted to become a doctor because I wanted to help others and that's exactly what I'm doing now. And I can help far more while I'm with the Doctor. I know exactly where I want to be and that is with him."

"You sleep with an alien?" her mother asked suddenly, as if she'd just realised it.

"Yes. What of it?" Martha asked back. Than she closed her eyes to calm herself down a bit. "Mum I'm an adult and I know what I'm doing. You don't have to worry about me. Just trust me, okay?"

Her mother's face softened a bit. "I do trust you, Martha," she said. "I just don't trust him. I mean I know that he's saved the planet a few times and that he's one of the good guys but that's it, I don't know anything about who exactly he is or his past and I don't think that you know much more about him."

"I know who he is. There are a few things about his past that he's not ready to tell me yet but he'll get there," Martha said. At least she hoped he would someday tell her everything about him. But she knew who the Doctor was now, even if she didn't know about all the events that made him this person, and that was enough for her for now.

"The point is maybe I trust him with saving Earth when aliens attack us, but I wouldn't trust him with your safety. What if you get hurt while you're with him?"

"I can look after myself," Martha said. "And the Doctor would do anything to make sure I'm safe. So please stop worrying."

"Just one more question," Francine said. "Are you happy? Does he make you happy?"

"Yes," Martha said.

...

The Doctor paced in the kitchen. He wondered what was going on in the garden right now. He knew that Francine would try to convince Martha to stay on Earth. But she wouldn't succeed. Martha had already made up her mind.

He felt like he should be there for her. Martha shouldn't have to defend their relationship against her mother on her own. But she had told him to wait. And maybe a mother-daughter conversation was exactly what they needed.

When he heard the back door open, indicating that Martha and her mother were coming back inside, he turned around to look expectantly toward the open kitchen door.

Francine came in first, closely followed by her daughter. He immediately made eye contact with Martha and was relieved when she smiled at him, letting him know that everything was fine.

"Martha, I want to talk to the Doctor alone for a minute. Why don't you go back to the living room? We'll be there soon," Francine said.

Martha looked between her mother and the Doctor, who now looked a bit nervous.

"All right," Martha said. Before she went out she leaned towards her mother and whispered "Please be nice to him," before she left.

"Doctor," Francine began. "I just want to ask you something: Will my daughter be safe with you?"

"Mrs. Jones, I will do everything I can to keep Martha safe. I love her," he said earnestly.

Francine nodded but still looked sceptically at him. "All right. But if you hurt her…" She didn't finish her thread but let it linger in the air for a moment. The Doctor nodded to show that he understood what she meant.

With that Francine turned around and left the room. The Doctor let out a breath and followed her. He knew that he hadn't convinced Francine about his sincerity yet, but he hoped that she would see with time that he really loved her daughter and would do anything to keep her safe and happy.

...

After dinner the Doctor and Martha said goodbye to everyone. Tish let her sister know that she would call her soon because she wanted to know everything about Martha's new relationship with the Doctor.  
>"My mum took our news better than I thought she would," Martha told the Doctor as he opened the door and let her into the TARDIS.<p>

"I'm not sure if she trusts me yet but at least she seems to have accepted that you want to stay with me," the Doctor added as he followed her inside his beloved ship.

"See? You didn't have to worry so much. She didn't even slap you," Martha said.

The Doctor walked up to the console and started to pull levers and push buttons to move the TARDIS back into the vortex. Martha sat down on the jump-seat and watched him.

"That wasn't the only reason why I didn't want to go," he said.

"And what's the other reason?" Martha asked. He was quiet for a while. When he finally turned around to look at her Martha noticed a sad expression on his face. He leaned against the console in front of where she sat.

"I used to have a family before the Time War," he began. "And I guess that's why I don't like family meetings. They remind me of what I've lost."

Martha had wondered lots of times what his life before the war had been like. He had told her a bit about his past companions and some of his adventures, but he had never said anything about his home planet and the people he had lost. The only time he had ever talked about the war had been in New New York on their second trip together.

She had never asked him about it because she didn't want to push him into telling her more. It should be his own decision to tell her when he was ready.

She took his hand and held it. "Do you want to tell me about your family?" she asked. "You don't have to if you're not ready."

"I know." he said. "But I think it's about time that I told you more about my past. I love you and I want you to know everything about me. You've already told me so much about your past and now it's my turn."

Martha smiled at him. She had to admit that she was still a bit insecure when it came to his feelings for her because he didn't often open up to her. The last time he had really opened up had been on Durelia after their first date.

But she knew it wasn't because he didn't trust her or didn't want her to know. He had been through a lot and was used to burying everything deep down. He was used to keeping everyone at bay and was afraid of getting hurt again. And that was why his words meant so much to her. He was ready to overcome his fears and open up to her because he loved her.

"I've been a father before the war," he began quietly. Martha looked at him surprised. That wasn't something she had expected to hear. "You had children?" she repeated.

He nodded. "Yes, and grandchildren. And a great-grandchild. I used to like family meetings back then."

Martha could see the pain clearly in his intense, brown eyes. She got up and laid her arms around him in an attempt to comfort him. She wished she could somehow take the pain away from him.

"Let's go somewhere more comfortable," she murmured. He nodded.

The two of them move deeper into the TARDIS and settled down on a comfortable couch in the library. Martha listened intently as the Doctor told her about his family, Gallifrey and the Time War.

After a few hours he stopped talking. He had told her how the war had ended and a few tears were rolling down his cheeks. Martha leaned over to wipe them away.

"I've still got more I need to tell you," he said.

"I know," she said. "But you can tell me another time." She kissed him softly on the lips and he reached out and held her face in his hands, caressing her with his thumbs.

"Thank you," he said.

"For what?" Martha asked him softly.

"Just for being here with me."

"Always," she answered. She laid her head against his chest, and he put his arms around her holding her close.

"I feel somewhat lighter for having talked about it," he said after a few minutes of silence.

"That's wonderful," Martha told him. "And I will always be there for you."

They looked into each other's eyes, both of them feeling how much their relationship had deepened in the last few hours.

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><p><strong>AN: <strong>Thanks for reading. Please leave a review to let me know how you liked it.

The first chapter of the sequel should be up within a week or so.


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